Tetragonal crystal system in the context of "Steel"

Lead(II) oxide, also called lead monoxide, is the inorganic compound with the molecular formula PbO. It occurs in two polymorphs: litharge having a tetragonal crystal structure, and massicot having an orthorhombic crystal structure. Modern applications for PbO are mostly in lead-based industrial glass and industrial ceramics, including computer components.

In crystallography, a crystal system is a set of point groups (a group of geometric symmetries with at least one fixed point). A lattice system is a set of Bravais lattices (an infinite array of discrete points). Space groups (symmetry groups of a configuration in space) are classified into crystal systems according to their point groups, and into lattice systems according to their Bravais lattices. Crystal systems that have space groups assigned to a common lattice system are combined into a crystal family.

The seven crystal systems are triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal, and cubic. Informally, two crystals are in the same crystal system if they have similar symmetries (though there are many exceptions).

Litharge (from Greek lithargyros, lithos 'stone' + argyros 'silver' λιθάργυρος) is one of the natural mineral forms of lead(II) oxide, PbO. Litharge is a secondary mineral which forms from the oxidation of galena ores. It forms as coatings and encrustations with internal tetragonal crystal structure. It is dimorphous with the yellow orthorhombic form massicot. It forms soft (Mohs hardness of 2), red, greasy-appearing crusts with a very high specific gravity of 9.14–9.35. PbO may be prepared by heating lead metal in air at approximately 600 °C (lead melts at only 300 °C). At this temperature it is also the end product of heating of other lead oxides in air. This is often done with a set of bellows pumping air over molten lead and causing the oxidized product to slip or fall off the top into a receptacle, where it quickly solidifies in minute scales.

Massicot is lead (II) oxide mineral with an orthorhombic lattice structure.Lead(II) oxide (formula: PbO) can occur in one of two lattice formats, orthorhombic and tetragonal. The red tetragonal form is called litharge. PbO can be changed from massicot to litharge (or vice versa) by controlled heating and cooling. At room temperature massicot forms soft (Mohs hardness of 2) yellow to reddish-yellow, earthy, scaley masses which are very dense, with a specific gravity of 9.64. Massicot can be found as a natural mineral, though it is only found in minor quantities. In bygone centuries it was mined. Nowadays massicot arises during industrial processing of lead and lead oxides, especially in the glass industry, which is the biggest user of PbO.

The definition of massicot as orthorhombic PbO dates from the 1840s, but the substance massicot and the name massicot has been in use since the late medieval era. There is some evidence that the ancient Romans used the substance.

A neodymium magnet (also known as NdFeB, NIB or Neo magnet) is a permanent magnet made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron that forms the Nd₂Fe₁₄B tetragonal crystalline structure. They are the most widely used type of rare-earth magnet.

Developed independently in 1984 by General Motors and Sumitomo Special Metals, neodymium magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnet available commercially. They have replaced other types of magnets in many applications in modern products that require strong permanent magnets, such as electric motors in cordless tools, hard disk drives and magnetic fasteners.

Anatase is a metastable mineral form of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with a tetragonal crystal structure. Although colorless or white when pure, anatase in nature is usually a black solid due to impurities. Three other polymorphs (or mineral forms) of titanium dioxide are known to occur naturally: brookite, akaogiite, and rutile, with rutile being the most common and most stable of the bunch. Anatase is formed at relatively low temperatures and found in minor concentrations in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Glass coated with a thin film of TiO₂ shows antifogging and self-cleaning properties under ultraviolet radiation.

Anatase is always found as small, isolated, and sharply developed crystals, and like rutile, it crystallizes in a tetragonal system. Anatase is metastable at all temperatures and pressures, with rutile being the equilibrium polymorph. Nevertheless, anatase is often the first titanium dioxide phase to form in many processes due to its lower surface energy, with a transformation to rutile taking place at elevated temperatures. Although the degree of symmetry is the same for both anatase and rutile phases, there is no relation between the interfacial angles of the two minerals, except in the prism-zone of 45° and 90°. The common octahedral crystal habit of anatase, with four perfect cleavage planes, has an angle over its polar edge of 82°9', whereas rutile octahedra only has a polar edge angle of 56°52½'. The steeper angle gives anatase crystals a longer vertical axis and skinnier appearance than rutile. Additional important differences exist between the physical characters of anatase and rutile. For example, anatase is less hard (5.5–6 vs. 6–6.5 on the Mohs scale) and less dense (specific gravity about 3.9 vs. 4.2) than rutile. Anatase is also optically negative, whereas rutile is optically positive. Anatase has a more strongly adamantine or metallic-adamantine luster than that of rutile as well.